The next morning, Lin Yuan went to the western stone gully again.
Nezha only wanted one piece of hard iron ore, but he didn't want to keep owing Kirito his wages. The materials in the mine could be collected by the player into their inventory, which meant that the rest could also be exchanged for money. He took out three small pieces of ore from different fissures, wrapped them together in an old cloth, and when he returned to the city, his short sword was still intact hanging on his waist.
Blacksmith Street was quieter than yesterday. Nezha's stall was still there, but the players who had previously gathered around were now walking around it. One unresolved accusation was enough to make people hesitant to entrust their only weapon to him.
Lin Yuan walked to the anvil. Nezha looked up, his eyes darkened by the sleepless night.
"The sword blank is ready." He took out a longsword without a handguard from behind him. "We melted the ore into it last night, and today we need to straighten and sharpen it. Try it out now; we can fix it if there are any problems."
Lin Yuan took the sword. Its length was just a bit longer than his usual short sword, but the weight wasn't all on the tip of the blade. He gripped the hilt, his thumb resting precisely in the designated spot, and his wrist wasn't hindered by the guard when he turned it.
A sword that wasn't even finished being forged was already more comfortable to use than the finished products in the weapon shop.
"Wave here?" he asked.
"Go to the end of the street. Don't chop down my stall."
Kirito and Asuna happened to return from outside. Asuna was carrying several sheets of paper covered in writing. Seeing Lin Yuan carrying the sword prototype, she made way for him. Kirito looked at Nezha: "Is anyone else coming to cause trouble?"
"No," Nezha shook his head, "They won't even come near the stalls now."
"There are inconsistencies in what that person said yesterday," Asuna said. "We're still investigating; let's not jump to conclusions."
Nezha responded, but his grip on the hammer tightened even more.
Lin Yuan didn't join the conversation. He took the sword blank to the open space at the end of the street, and first performed three basic slashes without adding force, following the stance Erza had taught him. The blade swept through the air, without the system drawing a line of light for it; every inch of change came from his wrist and shoulder.
The first sword strike was too light. For the second strike, Lin Yuan took half a step forward, drawing the momentum of the rock bull he had seen in the stone ditch under his feet. The sword moved forward with his weight, but stopped before the blade reached its end.
Kirito frowned. It wasn't the usual awkward ending of a player's sword technique; Lin Yuan had simply cut off his own momentum.
For his third strike, Lin Yuan switched to the first-floor boss's signature sword-drawing stance. He didn't imitate the length of the nodachi; instead, he used the angle of his sidestep to thrust the blade diagonally out from a position he couldn't normally reach. If there were a player on the other side, they would probably only see him take a step before the sword tip was already in front of them.
"Stop!" Nezha shouted.
Lin Yuan sheathed his sword. He thought there was something wrong with the sword blank, but Nezha approached and reached out to touch the end of the hilt.
"We need to add a little weight here. Otherwise, when you retract your third sword strike, your wrist will rotate an extra half inch."
Lin Yuan did as he was told, and it worked.
"You can tell?"
"I'm the one who forged your sword." Nezha took the sword. "You should be closing up shop if you can't tell."
He turned back to the anvil, and the hammering resumed. The people on the street still wouldn't come closer, at least the hammering didn't stop.
Lin Yuan handed the ore he brought back to Kirito. Kirito put each piece into his inventory, and after estimating, said, "Selling the extras will be enough to cover the wages I paid."
Tell me if it's not enough.
"Are you still going to dig?"
"It's better than being in debt."
Kirito didn't argue anymore and paid the wages in full. Nezha spent half a day installing the handguard, repairing the hilt, and sharpening the blade. When the last hammer fell, a simple longsword lay on the anvil, without the dazzling patterns that rare weapons usually have.
Kirito confirmed receipt of the order, then took out the sword and handed it, sheath still attached, to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan gripped it, but no attribute panel popped up, nor did it display any notification of successful equipment. The hardness of the leather sheath, the texture of the hilt, and the weight of the sword in his hand were all crystal clear.
The old short sword was still at his waist. He had used it to make his way through the first level, and he had also used it to cut through the Boss's long sword. Now the blade was chipped, and the cloth wrapped around the hilt was worn white. Lin Yuan did not throw it away, but simply moved it to a more convenient off-hand position.
He drew his sword, the blade reflecting half the street.
"How is it?" Nezha asked.
Lin Yuan sheathed his sword. The hilt didn't touch his wrist, and his center of gravity stopped exactly where he wanted it.
"It works."
Just two words?
"It can be used indefinitely."
Nezha paused for a moment, then finally smiled for the first time since yesterday.
Suddenly, someone ran up from outside, saying that the raiding team had found a new path leading to the depths of the labyrinth. Kirito and Asuna exchanged a glance, put away the records on the table, and prepared to verify the information first.
Lin Yuan fastened his longsword to his waist. It was time to continue upwards.